10 U.S. Code § 3924 - Forty years or more: Army officers

(a)Except as provided in section
1186 of this title, a commissioned officer of the Army who has at least 40 years of service computed under section
3926 of this title shall be retired upon his request.

(b)Any warrant officer of the Army who has at least 40 years of service computed under section
3926(a) of this title shall be retired upon his request.

In subsection (a), the words “except as provided in section
3786 of this title” are inserted, since, under that revised section, when board proceedings are pending against a commissioned officer, his right to retire under this revised section, which is otherwise absolute, is discretionary with the Secretary under that revised section.

In subsections (a) and (b), the words “or volunteer service, or both” are omitted as obsolete in accordance with an opinion of the Attorney General, 22 Ops. Atty. Gen. 199, August 30, 1898, holding that such words refer to volunteer service in the Civil War. The words “upon his request” are substituted for the words “if he make application therefor to the President”.

In subsection (b), the applicability of 10:942 to warrant officers is based on an opinion of the Judge Advocate General of the Army (JAGA 1950/6951, 4 Jan. 1951), which holds that 10:594 (less provisos) makes 10:942 applicable to warrant officers.